Transverse clearing machine, especially for use in connection with mining machines for underground mining



1964 o. A. w. RENZING ETAL 3,156,348

TRANSVERSE CLEARING MACHINE, ESPECIALLY FOR uss IN CONNECTION WITH MINING MACHINES FOR UNDERGROUND MINING 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 9, 1962 mv\l 1964 o A. w. RENZING ETAL 3,15

TRANSVERSE CLEARING MACHINE, ESPECIALLY FOR USE IN CONNECTION WITH MINING MACHINES FOR UNDERGROUND MINING Filed April 9, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 F/GE 1964 o A w. RENZING ETAL 3,

TRANSVERSEI CLEARING MACHINE, ESPECIALLY FOR USE IN CONNECTION WITH MINING MACHINES FOR UNDERGROUND MINING Filed April 9, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENmP United States Patent 3 Claims. (a. 198-426) The present invention relates to a transverse clearing machine, especially for mining machines in underground mining. Transverse clearing machines, for instance in connection with coal cutting machines equipped with cutting drums, are known which comprise a ramp-like gate arranged closely behind the cutting drum and inclined from the deepest cutting portion in the direction toward the strut conveyor means. The cutting drum, due to its direction of rotation, throws the cut coal onto the ramp-like inclined metal sheet, and due to said inclination of the ramp, the coal slides onto said conveyor means. With a greater inclination of the mine vein toward the adit and, the angle of inclination of the ramp sometimes becomes too small for the piled-up material to slide down, in which instances difficulties are encountered in connection with the transfer of the cut coal onto said conveyor means. 7

On the other hand, mechanical transverse clearing machines have become known which, by means of a circulating endless clearing chain equipped with flight attachment, convey the loosened or cut material to the conveyor means. These mechanical clearing machines have a greater field of application than said first mentioned transverse clearing machines but have the drawback thereover that they are relatively complicated in construction and thus are expensive, particularly in viewof the required step-down transmission and are rather large and wide in view of the respective slack chain stringer.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a transverse clearing machine which Will overcome the above mentioned drawbacks.

It is another object of this invention to provide a transverse clearing machine which has a wide field of application and will be simple and fool-proof with regard to its drive and construction.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear more clearly from the following specification in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a transverse clearing machine according to the invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan View of the clearing machine of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the transverse clearing machine with the strut conveyor means shown in section.

The transverse clearing machine according to the present invention, especially for mining operations in underground mining, which feeds the material cut by mining tools to the strut conveyor means is, in conformity with the present invention, characterized primarily by a piston which moves in an oscillating manner preferably perpendicularly with regard to the said conveyor means and presses the accumulated or piled-up material over a base plate onto the said conveyor means. Such piston may, for instance, carry out 60 double strokes per minute and moves the piled-up material onto the conveyor means in front of its end face. This piston is so designed that only the piston movement directed toward said conveyor means acts upon the piled-up material. In order to obtain as large a piston end face as possible while keeping the height of the transverse clearing machine low and in order thus to obtain the necessary feeding output, it is advantageous to design the piston in a box-shaped manner, preferably with a rectangular cross section. The design is such that when the piston moves in the direction toward said conveyor means, it moves out of a housing portion which is inclined from the deepest cutting portion to the conveyor means while the cross section of the protruding piston portion will have uniform cross section. Inasmuch as, for instance on an inclined base plate which extends from the front of the seam up to the level of said conveyor means, while those sections of said inclined plate which laterally confine the path of the piston are inclined in the direction toward the piston path, the material cut by the cutting drum in the lowermost piston dead center position accumulates in front of the end face of the piston and will be discharged by the piston onto the said conveyor means with each stroke. During its strokes, the piston is guided by guiding bars extending over the stroke length and through the piston end face. Double acting fluid pressure cylinder piston systems are provided as drive for the piston and are arranged in the latter and on the base plate or at the piston end face. These pressure fluid cylinder piston systems may receive the pressure fluid from the mining machine, for instance through the intervention of hoses or the like, and may be provided with a control for the pressure fluid composed of air or a liquid.

During the winning or mining movement and also during descent, the transverse clearing machine is in operation. While the transverse clearing machine is during the winning movement employed with the clearing sheet metal part in folded-up condition, said clearing sheet metal part to this end being hinged to the base plate at that lateral edge which faces away from the mining tools, the transverse clearing machine will in the reverse moving direction, i.e. during the cutting operation move with the clearing sheet metal part folded down to the floor of the seam. In folded-up position, the clearing sheet metal part frees the space below the base plate of the transverse clearing machine for the passage of the piled-up material dropping onto the floor so that it can pass between the mining tools and the transverse clearing machine. The said clearing plate is intended to prevent the material fed by the cutting tools from passing beyond the piston path. During the clearing movement, the clearing sheet metal part picks up from the floor the material which remained in the mined field between the new adit end and the conveyor means and due to its ramp-like inclination guides it into the path of movement of the piston which continuously discharges the material onto the conveyor means and thus considerably reduces the feed resistance during the clearing movement.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, the transverse clearing machine 1 is displaceably mounted on the strut conveyor means 2 and in the mining field between the conveyor means 2 and the face rests on the floor of the seam only at the deepest cut portion and furthermore directly adjacent said'conveyor means. By means of suitable elements, for instance plate means 3 (FIG. 2) or the like, the transverse clearing machine 1 is connected to the advancing mining machine of which only the cutting drum 4 is shown. The transverse clearing machine '1 is thus arranged closely behind said cutting drum 4 so that the coal loosened or broken by the said cutting drum drops directly toward the transverse clearing machine 1.

The transverse clearing machine 1 comprises primarily a base plate 5 which ascends from the deepest cut portion to the upper edge of the conveyor means 2. Mounted on base plate 5 is a box-shaped piston 8 of rectangular cross section which preferably has a uniform cross section throughout its entire length. Said piston is located in a housing portion 6 which is inclined toward the conveyor means 2. Piston 8 rests on base plate and is guided by bar means 9, 9' extending through the end face of said piston and parallel to the base plate. A double operable cylinder piston system 7 movably mounted on plate 5 has its piston rod connected to the end face of the box-shaped piston 8 and is supplied with pressure fluid through pressure conduits (not shown) from the mining machine. The said cylinder piston system by means of for instance a control 13 is actuated in alternate directions to thereby produce an oscillatory movement of piston 8 in the direction toward the conveyor means 2. For purposes of improving the feeding effect of the piston stroke directed toward the conveyor means 2 and also in order to improve the uniformity of the feeding process, it is advantageous to actuate piston 8 in such a way that its return stroke will be faster than its working stroke. In view of the fact that the housing portion 6 is inclined toward the conveyor means 2 and also in view of the fact that the base plate section 11 adjacent the mining tool is inclined toward the path of the piston 8, and furthermore in view of the clearing plate being folded upwardly during the mining movement and to this end being hingedly connected to the corresponding side of base plate 5, the coal dropping onto the clearing machine 1 will be collected in the path of piston 8 in front of the end face of the latter and by said piston will be pressed onto the conveyor means 2.

The material which passes between the mining tools 4 and the transverse clearing machine 1 and drops onto the floor is during the mining movement in an unimpeded manner passed over by the base plate 5 of the machine 1 which base plate 5 rests on the floor only closely adjacent the conveyor means 2 and on the deepest cut portion. The clearing plate 1i) is by means of hinge 12 foldably connected to that end of face plate 5 which is remote from the mining tool 4 and in this moving direction is folded upwardly. The plate 10 will only during the clearing operation pick up the material in the new field on the floor and feed said material toward the piston 8 of the transverse clearing machine 1 and thereby toward the conveyor means 2.

It is, of course, to be understood that the present invention is, by no means, limited to the particular construction shown in the drawing but also comprises any modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

What we claim is:

1. In combination with conveyor means, a transverse clearing machine, especially for use in connection with underground mining, for transferring mined material received from mining tool means to said conveyor means, which includes: base plate means extending at right angles to the direction of movement of said conveyor means and ascending toward said conveyor means to approximately the level thereof, fluid operable piston means reciprccable over said plate means toward and away from said conveyor means for receiving mined material and transferring same to said conveyor means, and

clearing plate means hinged to the side of said base plate means which trails during mining and at one side of the path of movement of said fluid operable piston means, said clearing plate means being foldable downwardly for movement over the floor during the clearing or reverse movement of said clearing machine to pick up material from the floor.

2. An arrangement according to claim 1, which includes guiding members fixed to said base plate and extending through said piston means for guiding the same through the strokes thereof.

3. An arrangement according to claim 2, which includes double acting cylinder piston means enclosed within said first mentioned piston means for actuating the latter.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 723,971 3/03 Acklin 19859 1,570,604 1/26 Abam 198226 2,160,920 6/39 Strawn 52 FOREIGN PATENTS 735,216 5/43 Germany.

SAMUEL F. COLEMAN, Acting Primary Examiner.

WILLIAM B. LA BORDE, ERNEST A. FALLER, JR., Examiners. 

1. IN COMBINATION WITH CONVEYOR MEANS, A TRANSVERSE CLEARING MACHINE, ESPECIALLY FOR USE IN CONNECTION WITH UNDERGROUND MINING, FOR TRANSFERRING MINED MATERIAL RECEIVED FROM MINING TOOL MEANS TO SAID CONVEYOR MEANS, WHICH INCLUDES: BASE PLATE MEANS EXTENDING AT RIGHT ANGLES TO THE DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT OF SAID CONVEYOR MEANS AND ASCENDING TOWARD SAID CONVEYOR MEANS TO APPROXIMATELY THE LEVEL THEREOF, FLUID OPERABLE PISTON MEANS RECIPROCABLE OVER SAID PLATE MEANS TOWARD AND AWAY FROM SAID CONVEYOR MEANS FOR RECEIVING MINED MA- 